Mario Kart: Super Circuit

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Mario Kart Super Circuit
Box art
Developer(s)	Intelligent Systems[1]
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Series	Mario Kart
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance
Release date	JP July 21, 2001 NA August 27, 2001 EU September 14, 2001
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone) OFLC: G (General)
Media	32-megabit cartridge

Mario Kart: Super Circuit, known in Japan as Mario Kart Advance (マリオカートアドバンス, Mario Kāto Adobansu^?), is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. It was the first Mario Kart released on a handheld game system; in 2005, a sequel titled Mario Kart DS was released. It is the first Mario Kart game not to be developed by Nintendo EAD; instead, it was developed by Intelligent Systems.^[1]

Super Circuit combines features from earlier Mario Kart games (Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64) In particular, it features the gameplay mechanics of the latter title and tracks from the former game. In the game, eight racers take to the tracks and race for first place.

The game was well-received by reviewers and has won an award.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Single 1.1.1 Mario GP 1.1.2 Extra 1.1.3 Time Trial 1.1.4 Quick Run 1.2 Multiplayer 1.2.1 Link it Up! mode 1.2.2 Mario GP 1.2.3 VS 1.2.4 Battle 1.2.5 Ghost trade 2 Characters 3 Reception 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

As with its predecessors, Super Circuit is a circuit racing game. In it, the player races against seven opponents, each a character from Nintendo's Mario series, in small go-karts, on tracks set in the Mario universe. Strewn upon the tracks are power-ups to aid the bearer or hinder their opponents, as well as Coins which increase the player's top speed.

[edit] Single

[edit] Mario GP

The main mode in the game. The player races in a series of "Grand Prix" competitions (Cups), against seven computer-controlled competitors. Each Cup consists of four three-lap races. Each Cup may be approached at a 50 cc, 100 cc, or 150 cc speed, which determines the speed of the race.

In the start of the race, Lakitu shows a stoplight. Like previous Mario Kart games, players use items to disable other players. Shells can knock out a player; bananas will cause players to skid. Mushrooms temporarily boost speed (and if the player uses a mushroom just before a jump on any track, except Bowser's Castle, they will fly further and faster). Each racer's finishing position in each race determines the number of points he or she receives, and at the end, the player with the most points wins. If the player finishes in fifth place or lower on any given race, he or she loses a life and must restart. The player may also choose to restart a race at any time, at the cost of a life. Upon losing their allocation of three lives in each Cup, however, the player loses and is ejected from the competition.

At the end of the cup, the player is awarded a trophy based on his or her finishing position (Bronze, Silver, or Gold) and a rating (E, D, C, B, A, One-Star, Two-Stars, Three-Stars, in ascending order) based upon the number of coins collected, their finishing positions in each race, and their lap times.

[edit] Extra

The cups and tracks from Super Mario Kart for the SNES are available in Super Circuit. They have been retitled the Extra Cups. These cups are unlockable by winning a Gold Trophy for the corresponding regular cup and then collecting 100 coins in the same cup.

Each race in an Extra cup consists of five laps. The track arrangement has changed due to the number of cups. In Super Mario Kart, there were four cups with five tracks each; in the Extra cups, there are five cups with four tracks each.

Unlocked tracks (Special and Extra Cups) are only available at the speed they were unlocked with. For example, obtaining a Gold trophy in each of the first four Cups at 50 cc unlocks the Special Cup at 50 cc, but not 100 cc or 150 cc. Time Trial mode for the Extra cups is unlocked when the player unlocks 150 cc.

These tracks are not exact replicas of the original courses. Many hazards have been removed, such as flashing Thwomps from Rainbow Road. The Super Circuit backgrounds are superimposed on the Extra Cup tracks. Some areas and shortcuts on the SNES tracks are now inaccessible or more difficult to reach due to the removal of the feather item from Super Mario Kart, the wooden board near the end of Ghost Valley 1 being a prime example. (The player must use a mushroom to boost off of a ramp in the new version, although it is possible to jump this gap with a very well-timed hop.)

[edit] Time Trial

Any track unlocked at 150cc in Grand Prix mode may be raced upon, alone, with the track's coins and power-ups removed. The player starts with three Mushroom power-ups that may be used at any time. Normal Cups are raced for three laps, Special Cups for five. A lap-time and total-time record are set for each, to provide a challenge, and the player's best lap time and total time recorded. Upon racing once on a track, the player can race against his or her "Ghost car", showing his or her progress on the previous attempt. This may be switched off.

Up to 10 "ghost car" runs may be saved in total, and they can either be viewed in replay mode or be raced against. Ghosts in the Extra Cups cannot be saved.

[edit] Quick Run

The player may choose any unlocked track, from any cup, and any speed, and race against seven opponents as in Mario GP mode. The number of laps may be changed between three or five, and the coins and items can be toggled on or off. This feature can also be used to practice for the Mario GP. It is essentially a VS Mode where settings can be modified, though it is not an official VS Mode.

[edit] Multiplayer

[edit] Link it Up! mode

Mario Kart Super Circuit was one of the few Game Boy Advance titles to use the Link it Up! mode of the Game Boy Advance. Using a Game Boy Advance link cable, up to four Game Boy Advance units can be linked together and the game can be played with multiple players using only one copy of the game. Due to the memory limitations of the Game Boy Advance, only four tracks are selectable and all four players racer's characters are different colored Yoshi.

[edit] Mario GP

Up to two players may progress in this mode. It works identically to the single-player Mario GP, except that there are two human players and six computer-controlled ones.

[edit] VS

Similar to single-player Quick Run mode, with two to four human players, and no computer-controlled ones.

[edit] Battle

Two to four players are placed in specially designed battle arenas (taken directly from Super Mario Kart), strewn with power-ups. Each player has three balloons attached to their kart, and each time he or she takes a successful hit (from an offensive item or aggressive ramming), he or she loses one. Upon losing the last, he or she is taken out of the game and turned into walking bombs that explode when they come in conntact with other players. The last player standing wins.

[edit] Ghost trade

Up to two of the player's "ghost car" saves may be copied to another player, and up to two received in return. These may then be raced against in Time Trial mode or viewed as replays as though they were the player's own. This may be useful in attempting to better a friend's best time at a given track, or to show off a player's skill.

[edit] Characters

Main article: Mario Kart playable characters

There are eight characters in this game. The cast is made up of the same characters from Mario Kart 64 (Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Toad). Each has a specific weight and acceleration rate. In multiplayer mode, players who do not own Super Circuit become Yoshi, and are colored to differentiate between several players.

[edit] Reception

Reviews
Publication	Score
Edge	9 of 10[2]
Electronic Gaming Monthly	8.5 of 10[3]
Eurogamer	9 of 10[4]
Game Informer	9.5 of 10[3]
GamePro	5 of 5[3]
GameSpot	8.2 of 10[1]
GameSpy	96 of 100[5]
IGN	9.5 of 10[6]
Nintendo Power	4.5 of 5[3]
Compilations of multiple reviews
Compiler	Score
Metacritic	93 of 100[7]
Game Rankings	92%[3]
MobyRank	93 of 100[8]
Awards
IGN Editors' Choice Award[9]

Mario Kart: Super Circuit was well received by the press and public alike. Those frustrated with Nintendo's policy of remaking older games for the GBA were pleasantly surprised that not only had Nintendo released a brand new Mario Kart game, but that all of the courses from Super Mario Kart had been included instead of being released as a separate port. It is still one of the most popular games for the GBA.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, IGN named Super Circuit as the 19th best game on the Game Boy Advance.^[10]

Mario Kart: Super Circuit has sold over 2.53 million in the United States alone, thus placing it onto Nintendo's Player's Choice list.^[11][12]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• Mario Kart: Super Circuit at Nintendo.com (archives of the original at the Internet Archive)
• Mario Kart Super Circuit at GameFAQs

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